Connor McDavid is conjuring up questions from the national media. 

Is the Edmonton Oilers superstar about to author one of the greatest offensive seasons ever? Is his 241-point pace a sign that a 200-point season is possible in this day and age? “I think I care more about how the game looks overall and how it feels out there,” said Connor McDavid when asked about his current torrid pace. He isn’t paying any attention. 

“It’s been good at times, and there’s been times where I feel I can do more, and everyone can do more, so that’s more important.”

Of course, such lofty totals are hard to fathom, but Jason Gregor did a great comparison in his Monday Musings column. The season is long, and we believe there will be a cooling off at some point. Nevertheless, the stats speak for themselves. He’s scored six goals and 23 points in eight games, shoulder to shoulder with giants in terms of the best individual efforts to begin a season. With 14 primary assists, these aren’t cheesy points, nor is it power play mercantilism, as his 14 five-on-five points are tied with Nathan MacKinnon for tops in the league. On Saturday against Utah, McDavid’s line with Leon Draisaitl and Vasily Podkolzin outscored the competition 3-0. That’s 14-1 to the good in seven games together.“I like the plus-19,” said coach Mike Babcock on McDavid’s gaudy stats. “That would be my focus for me, as you’re playing against good people and you’re doing things five-on-five to dominate the game.

“He drives his teammates not by what he says, because we get confused with leadership. It’s not what you say, it’s what you do. It’s what you model each and every day, and he does it right.”

In the old plus-minus department, McDavid, Bouchard, Ekholm, and Draisaitl are all top-four across the league, and Podkolzin isn’t far behind at seventh.

But what’s noticeable is the team’s commitment to dumping pucks. The Oilers rank among the highest rates of dump-ins through the early going, limiting rush chances against.

That’s what’s helped keep overall goals against down, even for the other lines, who may be getting outshot, but aren’t surrendering many chances. The last Mammoth game saw a few more rush chances for both teams, some created by turning the puck over like McDavid’s second goal, or Mathieu Joseph’s multiple breakaways.

But it’s clear since the Vancouver set of games to begin the season, the Oilers are looking to button down the rush, and that requires forcing the opponent to come 200 feet down the ice.

“We want to limit turnovers,” said McDavid. “We’re talking about playing better defence, and part of that is being responsible with the puck and managing the puck.

“You’re seeing that throughout the lineup. Understanding when’s the time to attack and when’s the time to get on the forecheck. We want to be a heavy team. We want to forecheck pucks back, and we’ve done that at times. We’ve gotten away from it at times, and we don’t have success. So yeah, we’re trying to find the right formula.”

Wild injuries haven’t slowed them down

While McDavid has the most points, no one has filled the net more than Kirill Kaprizov, who scored goal No. 10 of the season in the Minnesota Wild’s 2-1 win over the Columbus Blue Jackets. 

He’s spearheading a group that is 6-2-1 to start the season, nearly identical to the Oilers record, and individually is coming off NHL Third Star of the Week honours. 

“Just playing, play games, and just feel good,” Kaprizov said after Sunday’s win. “I feel like first couple games it was a little bit tough. Don’t feel like power right away. But then after two, three, four games, feel better a little bit now.”As the Oilers start a five-game homestand, the Wild begin a five-game road swing, but the injury bug has been biting, especially on the blueline. 

They’re finding ways to win despite missing Brock Faber, captain Jared Spurgeon, and veteran Olli Maatta. That’s prompted Jonas Brodin to step up and play his opposite side to form a top pairing with Quinn Hughes, and form unexpected AHL-laden pairs in Daemon Hunt with Zach Bogosian, and Matt Kiersted with David Špaček. 

However, they’re thriving, limiting the Blue Jackets to just 14 shots and making it easy on their netminder, Jesper Wallstedt. 

“We need them to,” coach John Hynes said. “But I do think that they’re playing with good detail. I think the team is playing with good detail, and those guys are basically playing a strong, structured system game. They’re all capable players, all good players.”  

On the flip side, the Wild power play is downright dangerous. They’ve scored on the man advantage in eight of their nine games for a slick 32.1 per cent, second in the league behind the Mammoth. 

While Kaprizov leads the way there with three PP goals, newcomer Blake Coleman has a pair, acquainting himself nicely with his new team, which has Stanley Cup aspirations. That’s nothing new for Coleman, a proud owner of a pair of rings. 

“It’s impressive, the depth that we have on this team,” Coleman told former teammate Ryan Lomberg in a feature by Michael Russo in The Athletic. “A lot of important guys out of the lineup, and we haven’t missed too much of a beat.” 

The Wild are good, real good. But not unlike the Oilers, they’re missing valuable pieces and still finding results.

Notes:Speaking of, Ryan Nugent-Hopkins practiced on Monday, but Babcock sounded cautious afterwards on whether he’ll make his season debut. Jason Dickinson remains…no one is sure it seems what is happening. But he was not on the ice on Monday.Trent Frederic said he feels as good as he’s ever felt in an Oilers sweater on Monday. He provided a fight of the year candidate against Jack McBain and seems rejuvenated. He appreciated how there’s no grey area in Babcock’s demands of his players:“The X’s and O’s and all that stuff is super clear. He wants me to get my confidence higher and it’s something I’m working on. Just like anything in life, if you’re confident, you do it better. But I’m having a lot more fun this year than I was last year and it’s just fun to be at the rink.” Mathieu Joseph scored his first as an Oiler and could’ve had another vs. the Mammoth. It’s been a hot minute since Joseph lit the lamp, dating back to Nov. 6, 2025, for his last goal.Colton Dach’s return from injury saw him play a season-high 16:52. In fact, that was the second highest ice-time he’s achieved in the NHL, dating back to Oct. 28, 2025, when he played 17:03 with the Blackhawks. However, it was a rough night at the dot, going 1-for-12 on the evening.Kaprizov became the fastest player to 10 goals in Wild history, beating a mark set by Brian Rolston in 2006-07.Almost no one is ripping the pill more than Matt Boldy, who has 41 shots on goal so far this season. Only Tage Thompson had more before Monday night’s games. He has five goals and seven points.Jesper Wallstedt has been impressive as the team’s bona fide starter with Filip Gustavsson’s injury. He’s 6-1-1 with a 1.99 goals against average and .922 save percentage. Calvin Pickard has played once in the backup role. It’s hard to envision Jon Hynes playing into the former team angle by giving Picks the start. The Great Wall of St. Paul haunted Oilers fans last season, going 2-0, stopping 72 of 75 shots, and earning a shutout.Quinn Hughes had an eight-game point streak snapped Sunday, but sits second in defensive points with 12. Evan Bouchard remains No. 1 with 16 points, which is tied for third overall in the league.Maxim Shabanov came over to North America last season and played 44 games with the New York Islanders. He wasn’t qualified with a new deal there, and signed a $1.6 million contract with the Wild, and it could become one of the best sneaky signings of the summer. The former KHL star has two goals and six points in nine games.Devon Levi was in the starter’s net for the Oilers at practice.Historically, this has been a nasty matchup for Edmonton, and they lost all three games to the Wild in 2025-26. That makes it 3-7 in the last 10, 6-14 in the last 20, 9-19-2 in the last 30, 12-26-2 in the last 40, 14-31-5 in the last 50…Michael Menzies is an Oilersnation columnist and co-host of Pregaming and Postgaming. He’s also been the play-by-play voice of the Bonnyville Pontiacs in the AJHL since 2019. With seven years of news experience as the Editor-at-Large of Lakeland Connect in Bonnyville, Menzies collects vinyl, books, and stomach issues. Follow him on X at Menzies_4. PRESENTED BY CAPITAL GMC BUICKHockey fans recognize elite performance instantly, and that’s exactly how Capital GMC Buick operates. With one of the city’s deepest selections of top-quality GMC and Buick vehicles and a customer experience built to win year after year, this dealership consistently leads the pack. Five current NHL players proudly drive vehicles from Capital GMC Buick, and for good reason. The store has been rated the #1 GM dealership in Canada by DealerRater for three consecutive years, is the only GM dealer in Edmonton endorsed by J.D. Power as a Dealer of Excellence, and has raised over $30,000 for the Stollery Children’s Hospital.